EXAMPLE : PAGE DESIGN, INFORMATION GRAPHICS

I’ve been project manager at A.L.I. for a year and a half. Filling both the art director and programmer roles means that I often do all the coding and very little of the finished design, usually overseeing the other outstanding artists we have and feeling secretly jealous.

Funny thing is, an artist had secretly wanted to do some coding in flash, so we switched roles for a project. I got to brush up on the graphic design skills and she got to do a nice flash timeline interactive.

This was done entirely in Illustrator, using an excel to illustrator graph to 3d filter workflow, the data displayed here was changed, edited and replaced several times with the completion of entirely new charts taking minutes to finish.

EXAMPLE : 3D FOR PRINT, PAGE DESIGN

I really enjoy mixed media, the challenge of 3D modeling and rendering for print medium. This page design won 3rd at the Texas Intercollegiate Press Advisers Association.

My usual approach, especially with projects that have many interdependent parts, is to develop a good workflow. I had used Illustrator to generate some clean text in a previous project, which imported nicely to lightwave (my 3D package of choice) where I was able to make a 3D model quickly. There are many advantages to Illustrator files in this scenario, like file size and scalability.

All models, and initial textures where created in illustrator as 2D paths and shapes, then exported out to lightwave for modeling and photoshop for detailing the textures. This proved to be a very powerful and quick way to get a clean, industrial look.

The best part is that I documented every test render and experiment along the way, and afterwards created a very small cheat sheet and style guide that has really sped up my work since.

EXAMPLE : 3D FOR PRINT, PAGE DESIGN

I really enjoy spreads. Fruit spreads on biscuits, cheese spreads on toast, and especially spreads on paper. The bulk work of any publication is going to be quick and clean, following the style book and fitting the puzzle pieces. It’s rewarding work and can be challenging.

Though every designer secretly wants (read: begs for) a nice and fat two-page spread. Give me room for info-graphics, 3D renderings, giant pull out quotes that sum up the story, and in this case, panoramic pictures and a design that mimic and online edition with more information and interactivity. And please, give me 4-color next time!

BACK STORY: Originally, this was not slated to have 3D modeling in it at all. Tim, the panoramic photographer, needed a few extras hours to get the stitching perfect, and we were somehow ahead of schedule. So I took the very rough models I had started for the interactive, beefed them up and presto, secondary art elements.

Two days is not a lot of time to create a full page sports feature like this, especially when there’s 3d modeling and texturing involved.

Wanting to take the 3d modeling skills I had learned in game design classes to a higher level, I volunteered for this assignment. There are many differences between 3d modeling for game design and modeling for print. They are similar to the differences from games to film, in that the final render will be at least 2,000 pixels wide (4k in this case) so your textures have to hold up to a higher standard, yet render quickly as possible. (This is a daily paper after all, and you are working on this in your spare time, as though that exists.)

For this I pulled out all my tricks (notice the multilayered different kinds of grass in the details picture) and just about every software package
I know. I used Illustrator to create the size mockups and yard meters, transfered that to photshop to paint in the grasses, while creating bump an spec maps. The same process worked for the cards and the chips with a simple export to eps to speed up the modeling process and insure exact texture fitting.

OUTCOME : 2nd place TIPAA

When you completely forget about a deadline, as my ad sales manager did, feel free to come into my office, panicking, drop off nine full body images with ugly backgrounds, a title, then mutter the rest as you dash off to that meeting you are late for. You’ll feel better with each step you take because you know…

I’ve done this kinda thing before and I love a challenge.

EXAMPLE : ADVERTISING & PRINT DESIGN

I enjoy working with small companies and startups. I’ve spent a great deal of time creating freelance websites, logos and startup business packages for local businesses and community groups.

This ad in particular was a joy because I was able to talk a bit with the sight owners, get a sense for their personalities and the demographic they were going for, which was rare at the NT Daily. We both agreed that this ad captured there spirit and intent.